It’s the game, not the score
The elitism and focus on winning that permeates youth sports are deeply entrenched but, as recent progress suggests, perhaps not permanently.
“The recent focus on obesity has the potential to turn this around,” says Jim Thompson, executive director of the Positive Coaching Alliance, a nonprofit organization based at Stanford University that offers workshops for coaches. “People are asking, ‘What would it take to get youths to be leaner and more active?’ ”
Several research and nonprofit organizations now offer clinics and how-to manuals for schools and youth sports organizations attempting to reform their programs. Most aim to de-emphasize winning, boost participation rates and improve the behavior of coaches and parents to make sports healthier and more fun for kids.
The Institute for the Study of Youth Sports at Michigan State University, which conducts research on youth sports, has partnered with the Michigan High School Athletic Assn. to provide coaching clinics and a curriculum based on the institute’s philosophy of “educational athletics.” The program discourages kids from specializing in one sport and emphasizes sportsmanship, says Daniel R. Gould, director of the institute.
“We’re not saying winning doesn’t count; that turns people off,” he says. “But you can’t forget the sportsmanship aspect or the importance of physical activity or making sure kids fall in love with the activity.”
Among the recommendations for example, Gould encourages coaches to provide students who’ve been cut with a list of other teams they could join, such as those offered by recreation leagues. “Sometimes letting kids know there are more alternatives is all you need to do,” he says.
At the Positive Coaching Alliance at Stanford University, which contracts with schools, school districts and youth leagues to provide coaching workshops and certification, coaches are advised to stop obsessing about winning.
“We help them change their culture away from an entertainment culture to an educational culture,” in which lessons about responsibility, teamwork and perseverance can be taught, says Thompson.
Meanwhile, a few school districts around the country are trying to adopt more inclusive sports programs, including the Los Angeles Unified School District. The district this year has added a lunchtime intramural sports program to all middle schools with the hopes of restoring intramural sports in high schools within a few years, says Barbara Fiege, director of interscholastic athletics.
Fiege says she would also like to soften high schools’ emphasis on elite athletes. For example, she objects to the practice of weeding out players -- and grooming others -- before school-sponsored tryouts even begin. High school coaches typically operate summer camps intended to prepare all students for try-outs during the school year. But the camps have largely evolved into scouting opportunities for coaches.
“I’ve gotten calls from parents in the summer who say ‘my son or daughter has just been told by the coach that they didn’t make the team,’ ” Fiege says. “There is something wrong with that picture. Selections for the school teams aren’t made in the summer.”
She also condemns the practice, common among high school coaches, of encouraging prospective players to join expensive, and often exhausting, off-season travel or club teams for year-round development.
Students are sometimes told “if they don’t play travel ball they won’t make the team,” Fiege says. “We’re constantly telling people that one thing doesn’t have anything to do with the other and that [coaches] can’t say that.” She says her office is considering barring coaches from discussing travel or club teams with students.
Perhaps the most sweeping overhaul of youth sports, however, is taking place in Maine, where dozens of school districts as well as private and nonprofit organizations are working together to boost participation among kids of all abilities, improve the conduct of coaches and parents, and keep sports fun.
The efforts, part of a program called Sports Done Right, were conceived by the Maine Center for Sport and Coaching at the University of Maine and launched last year after two years of study and input from students, administrators, coaches, sports officials and parents. The program, which emerged from a decision by the university in 2004 that the center should examine problems in youth sports, addresses what each of those “stakeholders” can do to improve youth sports, Brown says.
Twelve districts participated in a pilot program last year and many more are coming on board this year, says Karen Brown, director of the Maine Center for Sport and Coaching. The program has already led to changes. For example, several school districts are trying to reinstate intramural sports.
Another district is eliminating fees so that kids whose families can’t afford the activity can still play. One high school in Maine has banned team-specific parent booster clubs in favor of a single all-sports club that distributes money equitably among the teams and that limits parental influence on coaching decisions. Other school districts are considering barring club and travel teams from using school facilities unless they agree to abide by the Sports Done Right philosophy.
“It’s not a magic bullet,” says Brown of the program, which is being considered by various individuals or groups in at least 40 other states. “But it’s making school boards understand the importance that sports plays in kids’ lives.”
The biggest objection to change, she says, is based on money. Schools fear they don’t have the funds to hire more coaches, order more equipment and find more facilities to make sports more inclusive.
But says Brown: “It’s not just about money. It’s about changing the culture and mind-set of many adults.”
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With an eye toward improvement, organizations offer advice and training
Many local and national organizations aim to improve youth sports culture through the education of coaches and parents and the training of sports officials. A number of them also offer youth sports programs.
* National Assn. for Sport and Physical Education: The largest of the five national associations that make up the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, the organization conducts research, creates standards and offers programs to improve the quality of physical education, sport and physical activity programs in a variety of settings. www.aahperd.org/naspe or (703) 476-3400.
* Maine Center for Sport and Coaching: Part of the University of Maine, the center provides professional development to coaches and helps implement Sports Done Right, a community-based program that seeks to improve youth sports based on seven core principles that describe youth sports programs that promote health. www.sportsdonerightmaine.org or (866) 767-8540.
* Positive Coaching Alliance: Based at Stanford University, the organization promotes coaching methods that help children learn life lessons through sports. It offers training workshops for coaches, parents and leaders of youth sports programs. www.positivecoach.org or (866) 725-0024.
* National Athletic Trainers’ Assn.: The organization of certified trainers seeks to enhance the quality of healthcare provided by trainers. The group also offers advice and information on healthful sports training for children and youth. www.nata.org or (214) 637-6282.
* National Alliance for Youth Sports: The organization promotes positive and safe sports activities for children and offers programs and services to improve the skills of volunteers, professionals, parents and players involved in youth sports. www.nays.org or (800) 688-KIDS.
* Institute for the Study of Youth Sports: The institute at Michigan State University conducts scientific research on youth sports and provides information on ways to create positive youth sports programs. ed-web3.educ.msu.edu/ysi or (517) 353-6689.
* Center for the Study of Sport in Society: The Northeastern University group studies how sports can create social change by bridging cultural gaps and promoting sportsmanship. It studies how to achieve a balance between athletics and academics in high school and college sports, and promotes youth physical activity. www.sportinsociety.org or (617) 373-4025.
* National Institute for Sports Reform: The coalition of experts in fitness, youth education and sports seeks to promote change in U.S. sports culture and advocates for sports reform. www.nisr.org.
* Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles: Founded with surplus funds from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the private organization operates a sports research library and funds a variety of youth sports programs in Los Angeles aimed at providing positive sports opportunities for kids of all abilities. www.aafla.org or (323) 730-4600.
-- Shari Roan